Rest in peace, good little bills

In case you missed it, a little drama unfolded last night on the Senate floor. While it may have made for some interesting television for procedural junkies like us, it also meant that a lot of bills didn’t get a vote ahead of the 5:00 PM opposite house cut-off for policy bills.

Among the causalities on the Senate’s floor calendar:

HB 2503: This measure would have given veterans and members of the National Guard priority registration when they sign up for college classes. The extra time to secure their classes would have given our veterans ample time to get that information back to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

HB 1217: The ‘Safe Streets’ bill would have given cities the option to set speed limits as low as 20 MPH on non-arterials. Cities can currently take this action, but not without a costly study on traffic and engineering.

HB 2717: Legislation to encourage colleges and universities to report efficiency measures they’ve taken. That information is later shared across our state’s higher education system, encouraging other institutions to take similar actions in order to reduce their bottom line.

HB 2372: A consumer protection bill to cap towing fees when your car is impounded on private property. Following widespread reports of price-gouging by predatory towing companies, this bill would have ensured that no Washingtonian is held hostage by recovery fees equal to a month’s rent.

These are just a few of the bills we are mourning over here in the HDC today.